MYRMECOCHORES IN WARM-TEMPERATE ZONE OF JAPAN

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  • 日本の暖温帯に分布するアリ散布植物
  • ニホン ノ ダンオンタイ ニ ブンプスル アリ サンプ ショクブツ

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Abstract

A total of 20 myrmecochorous plant genera and 19 seed-dispersing ant species were recorded from the warm-temperate zone of Japan. Of these plant genera, Akebia, Humulus and Lindera were newly found to be myrmecochorous. Akebia quinata, A. trifoliata and lindera citriodora, which had been regarded as mammal-or bird-dispersed species, seemed to be diplochorous, since their seeds contained in the faeces of mammals or birds were frequently observed being carried away by ants. The disseminule weight of the myrmecochorous species varied widely from 0.178mg (Corydalis racemosa) to 47.538mg (Akebia trifoliata), but was most frequently between 0.4mg and 2 mg. Unlike cool-temperate myrmecochores, which usually occur on the forest floor, warm-temperate myrmecochores were usually distributed in open or semiopen habitats such as at the forest margin, in cracks in stone walls, in grasslands and at the roadside. Seed dispersal occurred mostly from late spring to early summer, but occasionally took place even in autumn.

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